MANILA, Philippines—Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible, progressive brain disease that slowly destroys an individual’s memory and thinking skills, eventually preventing that person from carrying out even simple tasks like brushing teeth or getting dressed up.

Interestingly, the attributes of this disease often overlaps with another degenerative brain disorder, the Parkinson’s disease dementia, which also describes its patients as having impairments in executive function, memory retrieval, and attention.

While the risk of developing these two conditions increase with age—in most cases, symptoms appear after reaching 65—they are, however, not a part of normal aging, reminded Dr. Simeon Marasigan, president of Dementia Society of the Philippines.

Complex interplay

“They’re not something that normally happen and it is believed that both conditions result from a complex interplay of environmental factors, lifestyle choices, and genes and proteins gone haywire,” he explained.

What is clear is that in both diseases the patient’s brain exhibits plaques and the progressive death of nerve cells, called neurons, that gradually strip that person of memory, language, reasoning, and, finally, life.

“The gradual slipping away of mind and memory is frightening and frustrating, both for the person with these diseases and for family and friends. Not so long ago, we couldn’t do much for these affected individuals. However, the situation is changing,” explained Dr. Miguel Ramos, president of Philippine Society of Geriatric Medicine.

Recently, Novartis Healthcare Philippines announced the availability here of the world’s first and only skin patch for the symptomatic treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease as well as mild to moderate Parkinson’s disease dementia.

Applied once a day, the new skin patch sends rivastigmine tartrate (Exelon) straight into the bloodstream.

Not new

“Rivastigmine isn’t a new drug since it is already available in capsule form. What is special about putting this drug in a skin patch form is that it simplifies the drug’s use, making it easier to administer and thus, improves compliance of patients,” explained Serge Gauthier, professor at Canada’s McGill Centre of Studies of Aging.

Since it is no longer swallowed, the drug is delivered straight into the bloodstream, bypassing the gastrointestinal tract in hopes of fewer side effects and maintaining a consistent daylong dose.

The patch is applied once daily to the back, chest, or upper arm and maintains steady blood levels of the drug throughout for 24 hours.

While rivastigmine does not cure Alzheimer’s disease or Parkinson’s disease dementia, it could improve patients’ quality of life.

“Rivastigmine improves the function of nerve cells in the brain by preventing the breakdown of acetylcholine. People with dementia, as brought about by these two conditions, usually have lower levels of this chemical, which is important for the processes of memory, thinking and reasoning,” Marasigan said.

Gauthier added that the rivastigmine skin patch is also approved by the United States’ Food and Drug Administration, which based its recommendation on an international study that included nearly 1,200 patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease.

Exelon Patch showed similar efficacy to the highest doses of Exelon capsules and the recommended dose (9.5 milligrams per 24 hours) was generally well tolerated by patients,” Gauthier reported.

Memory loss

Dr. Michelle Anlacan, dementia specialist at the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital, clarified that while it is a common symptom of both diseases, memory loss by itself does not mean one already has either of the conditions of the two diseases.

“We all forget things from time to time, but the loss of memory associated with Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease dementia is different. It is persistent and progressive, not just occasional,” Anlacan explained.

Doctors agreed that if one exhibits some or all of the following symptoms, that individual is advised to see a neurologist, psychiatrist, or a geriatric doctor as they may be in a better position to access the condition:

• Memory loss of recent events. This may not be severe at first but is likely to become progressively worse as even long-term memory could be affected.

• Problems finding the right words for what you want to say.

• Family and friends are already complaining about changes in the individual’s personality like being too withdrawn, prone to fits of temper, or anxious and depressed (in worst case, not being able to recognize close relatives and friends).

• Feel puzzled and disorientated in familiar places, such as own home.

• Don’t know what month or year it is, or the time of day.